This article presents the data from research conducted in 2003 to estimate the prevalence rate of social phobia among secondary school students in Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq. This study presents an attempt to demonstrate some basic population parameters in a context where health researchers are working under many obstacles and risky circumstances. The results showed that the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) revealed that 44% of the study sample showed symptoms of social phobia but after applying DSM-IV criteria the rate dropped to only 1.67%. Two third of the socially phobic students were in the age group of 15-17 years, the rate of social phobia is higher in females than males with ratio of 3.5:1. The discrepancy in SPIN and DSM-IV rates may be explained partly by the ambiguous boundary between normal and pathological fear particularly with self-rating, showing a greater prevalence of subsydromal symptoms in this population. There is a limited scientific research base for tackling psychosocial and welfare issues of Iraqi children. Therefore a need remains to establish prevalence figures for psychiatric symptoms as a base on which to develop services in child and adolescent mental health in Iraq.